Business owner reworks logo that offends some Native people

It started with what Dan Pullen thought was the perfect logo — the name of his alternative healing center, Yampa Wellness, with the image of a sacred Indian pipe, or chanupa.

“The logo invoked what we were really trying to be, which is a healing center in Boulder that also offers referrals for medical marijuana,” Pullen says. “From there, that was developed, and the name came with that.”

Yampa means “big medicine” or “big wellness” in the Ute language, he says.

“I thought it was important to pull something from Colorado specifically. It seemed appropriate,” he says.

The logo featuring the pipe ran in a series of ads in Boulder Weekly. And almost immediately Pullen began getting calls — but not necessarily the kind of calls he’d hoped for. Some members of the local American Indian community objected to the use of the pipe in a commercial image, and they also objected to its being associated in any way with medical marijuana.

“I got a call the first week,” he says. “I explained to her it didn’t mean anything disrespectful.”

Pullen says a couple of the callers were willing to discuss the issue with him “as adults,” while others were more adamant.

By the second week of his ad campaign, the newspaper had received a handful of complaints from people who identified themselves as American Indian and said the ad was culturally offensive because it included the pipe. The newspaper’s management contacted Pullen to discuss the possibility of changing the logo. Thus began a process of soul-searching for Pullen.

Pullen says he grew up in a family that valued alternative medicine and that he started Yampa Wellness after learning that his brother-in-law, who raised him from the age of 10, had terminal cancer. The center offers chiropractic, Reiki, massage, naturopathic medicine, as well as other forms of healing, including medical marijuana referrals. It is not a medical marijuana dispensary.

“We really are looking for legitimate clients who not only may want to use medical marijuana as an alternative, but who are using our services for their upkeep, their physical management,” he says.

Pullen says the logo with the pipe was the product of a brainstorming session with one of his nephews, a graphic artist, and his business partners.

“In a conversation with our close family ties to the Indian relations, it was definitely understood that [using the image of the pipe] would be a fine thing as long as it was … an artistic take on that,” he says.

Pullen, who says his ancestry includes some Cherokee, was reluctant to change the logo because he felt it represented his business perfectly. At the same time, he wanted to maintain a good relationship with Boulder’s Native community.

“That was the tipping point,” he says. “I wanted to extend good faith to the community by relinquishing that logo, but not without a struggle or a compassionate perspective about why I used it and why I wanted to use it and why it would be appropriate to continue to use it.” Pullen sat down with his business partners again and reworked the logo. It now features a hawk in flight over prairie grass, with a caduceus in the background. He says he doesn’t like this logo as much as he liked the original one, but that he’s committed to this change.

“I’m sticking with it,” he says. “I fought it. I fought it for sure. We may add some aspect of something additionally later, but if you change things too much then people get confused and you’re starting all over again.”

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I have liked your article very much. The facts of Logo rework of the business owners that offended a few of the native people was unknown till date, as I have never found this news in the best writing service as well. I hope business owners will take care of such things from now on. I truly enjoyed reading your content. I guess you share such articles further in near future.

Dan Pullen is a habitual criminal that starts business venture after business venture, swindling all who allow themselves to be taken in by him. When he is 'found out' in one business, he shuts it down and starts another. He is NOT an honest person, repeatly and knowingly participates in criminal business practices, and screws people over and moves on to find more victims. DO NOT allow youself to be taken in by this man!

I am a sincere person, striving to make a living in this challenging economic cycle. I have spent months ignoring these comments that are adversely effecting my business and personal reputation, and I will do so no longer. I am an honest person and it is my belief that when a person posts a comment on a irrefutable forum, especially if their comments are an egregious attack on a person's character, they should at the very least, post their name. It is my fervent prayer that you understand the gravity of your anonymity, it is an obvious illustration of your cowardliness, and your juvenile approach to business. If I have wronged you in business, I would ask that we address it and solve it amicably.

I started Yampah Wellness as a service to the community as a whole and as a response to my brother's battle with cancer, and eventual death. He benefited greatly from Medical Marijuana, and it is my hope to provide a safe and educational approach to obtaining your license for medicinal marijuana.

I have been a part of the business community in and around Boulder for 22 years, my family and friends are here, and I am here to stay. My ventures are long standing members of the BBB, without a complaint, and I have been a "Gold Member" in each of my enterprises.

Unfortunately, the litigious nature of business ownership has reared its ugly head, and it appears that these comments are stemming from a yet unresolved contract with an unrelated business, in an unrelated industry. in the wake of any business dispute, there are feelings of ill-will. I understand these emotions, but I maintain that personal feelings should not adversely effect another human beings ability to survive. Thank you for your business, and I am committed to being a exemplary cog in the Boulder Business community.

You are full of BS. Every business you have been involved in has ended in lawsuits or people getting screwed over by you. It's sad that your only way to deal with the huge mess you have created is to file for Bankruptcy. KARMA will get you in the end, if it hasn't already.

I have known Dan for going on 8 years and have always known him to be a very reputable, caring, smart and honest individual. I have worked with Dan on a personal level as well as a business level and find the negative comments posted to be extremely dishonest about the person I know. It sounds like these comments are coming from persons that are indiffrent to Dan and that is unfortunate. Sometimes when one jumps the gun, and makes rash decisions, those decisions end up leading to disaster. Dont blame Dan for your rash decision making. As I mentioned, I have worked with Dan on several multi-million dollar projects and 99.9% of his customers were over the moon happy with the work he preformed. Maybe these people who are unhappy need to take a look at themselves a bit and take some responsibility for the mess they created?!

I think you need to take a closer look at your friend Dan Pullen. Just google the term "Dan Pullen Colorado" and look at the Colorado supreme court ruling against Pullen. He has not paid one penny to the victims in this case. in Dan Pullen's bankruptcy case he lists friends and family he owes money to and is trying to erase his debt. If he can screw family and friends, imagine what he would do to a complete stranger who is unlucky enough to meet him.